Terms & Conditions
Last Updated: September 1st, 2023.
These Terms and Conditions are effective immediately.
Thank you for choosing The Housekeepers. Our customer guidelines are our best efforts to provide great communication and are crucial to delivering a consistent and predictable result.
Here at The Housekeepers, we love to clean, and more importantly, we love our clients! We realize having someone in your home is a very personal relationship. You put your trust in us and we look forward to making your home sparkly for years to come.
Technology
The Housekeepers utilizes technology to its fullest potential to provide you with a smooth customer experience. You will receive an automated email three days prior to service and a reminder text the day before your appointment. You may respond to the email, however, the automated text messages are only one-way messaging. You do have the option to opt-out of these at any time.
Initial Cleaning Quote
We take many variables into account when we give you a cleaning estimate. It is important to communicate to us in advance if your home requires special attention as our quotes are based on a home in normal conditions. Our “initial or deep cleans” are our only residential services that are billed hourly. If our cleaners require extra time during your initial deep clean, you will be notified and at that time you will have the option to approve extra time or to stay within your original estimate, understanding the job will be left incomplete. We will never charge you for any extra time without your consent. Factors that can affect your initial cleaning quote may be a higher dirt level than anticipated, clutter, a large number of knick-knacks or trinkets, etc. This will be the case for the initial cleaning ONLY, after which we will be able to confirm your FLAT RATE pricing. In some cases, changes in the residence will affect the agreed upon flat rate pricing. An example of this is the addition of people or pets in the household. If this is the case you will have the option to address the items which are incurring an increase in the cleaning fee yourself OR accept our increased fee. This will ALWAYS be a transparent process in which you be notified with sufficient time to make a decision that is best for you.
- PROMOTIONAL OFFER: Occasionally we will run a promotion in which our new clients will receive their first time deep clean at the same rate as their recurring service. If you signed on for this promotion, you are agreeing to complete and pay for at least 8 recurring cleanings. If service is canceled prior to the completion of the 8 cleanings, the initial difference in price will be charged to the card on file at the time of cancellation.
Employees
For your protection, all of our employees undergo a background check, drug screen, and reference check prior to employment. In addition, all employees are covered through our worker’s compensation, liability, and bond policies. All of our employees go through our training program to learn The Housekeepers cleaning standards.
Because of our investment in our employees, when a client enters into an agreement for services, the client agrees to not engage in a working relationship with any employee outside of interactions for and through The Housekeepers. The client also agrees to pay The Housekeepers the sum of $2500 in the event this clause is breached.
Preparing For Your Cleaning
For us to provide you the best cleaning results we ask that you pick up any clothing, household items, or toys. A decluttered area ensures that our cleaners are able to access all surfaces to give you the best result.
In addition, it is recommended that anything of a valuable, sensitive, or sentimental nature be put away and that money, credit cards, and checkbooks also be secured as we are not responsible for missing currency.
- Climate Control: The temperature inside your home should be at a comfortable setting before we arrive. We will not provide services in an environment that is physically uncomfortable for labor. This includes, but is not limited to, extreme heat or cold. In the event that your appointment is canceled due to climate issues, a standard cancellation fee will be assessed (see payments and fees).
- Here at The Housekeepers, we do love pets. However, for the safety of our cleaners we ask that skittish or aggressive pets be locked away.
Preparing For Your Cleaning
The Housekeepers provides all supplies and equipment required for cleaning your home. The Housekeepers uses industry leading HEPA vacuums and replaces the bag for every client. In the event we are using a client vacuum we will quality check the unit before and after service and submit a status report.
Any damages caused directly by The Housekeepers will be repaired or replaced, damages that occur by someone else outside of The Housekeepers will be reviewed on a case by case basis.
If you would like us to use specialty products or equipment, please leave it in an easily accessible spot and notify the office of your request prior to service. The Housekeepers is not responsible for any damage caused by cleaning products or equipment provided by you, the client. We also cannot honor our 24-hour guarantee (see Guarantee) if we are using the client’s products or equipment.
Preparing For Your Cleaning
Due to the nature of our business, The Housekeepers cannot guarantee an exact arrival time. Because of situations that may arise, including but not limited to, weather, lockouts, cancels, or callouts. Instead, we provide a 2-hour arrival window for all appointments. For example, if you have a 10 am appointment, you should expect our cleaners between 9 am and 11 am.
Entry Options
- On-Site: You are home the day of service to grant access. If you are not home at the time of arrival, we will wait 15 minutes before we charge a lockout and cancellation fee (see payments and fees).
- Key or Door Code: you provide The Housekeepers with a key or code. Codes for smart locks will be stored in your client account and accessible by your cleaners at any time as long as you are on the schedule. Keys will be left in a lockbox in a locked room at our office. In the event the key or code does not work, you will be responsible for the lockout and cancellation fee (see payments and cancellations).
- Alarms: Alarm procedure is covered during client onboarding and is relied upon by your cleaner to access the property without incident. Any changes in code or procedure must be communicated by the client to The Housekeepers prior to service. Alarm codes will be stored in your client account and accessible by your cleaners at any time as long as you are on the schedule.
The Housekeepers will not be responsible for alarm fees due to an incorrect code, disarming directions, or not being aware of a home’s alarm system.
Cleaning
In addition to our regular service, The Housekeepers offers the following:
- Linen Changes – As a courtesy, The Housekeepers will change the linens in all bedrooms, provided that linens are left on the bed or easy accessible .
- Dishes – The Housekeepers will load the dishwasher in order to free up the sink for cleaning. Please note that any dishes already in the dishwasher are presumed dirty. However, if that is not the case, please empty the dishwasher prior to your scheduled clean. If there are items that are not dishwasher safe they should be put away in a safe place prior to our arrival. In the case that there is no dishwasher, The Housekeepers will be happy to rinse the dishes and place them on the counter at no additional charge.
- Trash – The Housekeepers will remove trash from your home and place it in your trash receptacle. If no receptacle is provided, trash will be left on the curb in front of your home. The Housekeerpers will remove trash from the site for an additional fee base on the quantity of trash to be disposed.
- Furniture – The Housekeepers will occasionally move small furniture in order to clean behind it. However, the cleaners will not move excessively heavy items. If there are heavy pieces of furniture that require moving, we ask that these items be moved prior to our arrival. The Housekeepers will not be responsible for scratches on the flooring due to unprotected furniture legs.
- Special Requests – The Housekeepers asks that you notify the office 48 hours in advance of your appointment for any special requests. Any services requiring extra labor, supplies, and/or equipment will be billed accordingly.
- Items that we cannot clean, include:
- Inside of fireplaces
- TVs and computer screens
- Toys or books
- Wash dishes (other than one sink full of dishes)
- Wash laundry
- Areas with fresh foods (The Housekeepers will not handle any of these items, nor will we use any cleaning products in a room where these items are)
- Windows
Items The We Cannot Handle:
In order to ensure the safety of our employees, we DO NOT clean/handle the following items based on the bio-hazard risk. :
- Bodily fluids, blood, urine, or feces
- Homes with insect or rodent infestations (if these conditions are discovered while already cleaning, additional fees will apply, see payments and scheduling)
- Animal waste
Damage
The Housekeepers is continuously trained on safety and we do everything to treat your home with respect. If, however, an unexpected break does happen we do our best to repair or replace the item. For this reason, our staff should not clean curio cabinets, figurines, glassware, and items of extreme or sentimental value. It is your responsibility to make us aware of these items so we can exclude them from our cleaning.
If an item is broken by one of our cleaners, The Housekeepers will pay up to $100 per item or the replacement cost if the value is verifiable. The Housekeepers reserves the right to photograph any items in question. We will not be held liable for items that have pre-existing damage or items that are not properly secure or attached.
Payments, Scheduling, and Fees
Payments are due on the day of service. You are required to have a credit or debit card on file with us. However, we do accept cash in a clearly marked envelope on the day of cleaning. If this is our agreement and envelope is not left for any reason, we will run the card on file for that single service. We do not accept checks and accounts that go unpaid for 7 days will be assessed a $25 late fee and the card on file will be processed.
Tipping: Tips are allowed but never required and handled between the customer and the cleaning techs. If you do choose to leave a tip, please make sure that it is left in a clearly marked or labeled envelope and that it is easily accessible for the techs.
Other fees incurred are as follows
- Cancellation fee: $25 -if service is canceled with less than a 48-hour notice
- Late cancellation fee: $50 -incurred when a service is canceled on the same day of service
- Lockout fee: $100– incurred when a cancellation happens when cleaners are in route or at the door of the service location and cannot gain entry for any reason
- Walkout:- full-service price -this is incurred when any situation that would prohibit the cleaners from safely doing their job happens. Examples include but are not limited to hoarding, infestations, excessive clutter or dirt build-up, aggressive pets, too many clients or guests occupying work areas.
- Late payment fee: $25 per week up to 3 weeks. Interest will accrue on unpaid account at the rate of 5% or $50 per month whichever is greater, after 1 month unpaid
All of the above scenarios will also cause the rate of your next cleaning to increase to your next level. For example, if you were serviced weekly and you skip a service you will have to pay the Bi-weekly rate for your next cleaning. Or if you are service bi-weekly and you skip service you will pay the monthly rate for your next clean.
Holidays
If your recurring cleaning service is scheduled on an observed holiday, you will be contacted for rescheduling by the office in advance.
Our observed holidays are:
- New Year’s Eve & Day
- Memorial Day
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Thanksgiving
- Christmas Eve & Day
Our Guarantee
Consistent quality in world-class customer service is 100% guaranteed. We want you to be completely delighted with your entire experience! If you have any concerns with your cleaning, simply email info@housekeepersaugusta.com or call 706-737-6243 within 24 hours of service. We will return and re-clean the area or areas of concern at no additional charge. Since cleaning is a very personalized and subjective service, we cannot offer refunds or discounts.
Because of our guarantee, we do value your consistent feedback on our work. You’ll receive a survey after each cleaning or invoice you receive and will have random quality checks done throughout your time with us to ensure consistent service.
We thank you so much for understanding and respecting our policies so that we can continue to retain rockstar employees and provide consistently fabulous service! Your signature below indicates that you have read, understood, and agree with the client guidelines presented by The Housekeepers.